INSIDE NASCAR Returns to SHOWTIME® to Chronicle the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

Special One-Hour Season Premiere Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT Only on SHOWTIME

NEW YORK (Sept. 7, 2012) - INSIDE NASCAR®, the premium motorsports studio show co-produced by Emmy® Award-winning NASCAR Productions and SHOWTIME Sports®, will return to SHOWTIME on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 10 p.m. ET/PT with a special one-hour episode to kick-off its third season.  Returning to the program will be host Chris Myers, eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner Kyle Petty, and two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip.

The one-hour season premiere recaps every critical turn of events through the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup “regular season” with the NASCAR Productions’ vibrant, in-depth race highlights and exclusive scanner audio for which INSIDE NASCAR has become known.

Myers will guide Petty and Waltrip as the trio breaks down the playoff picture just days before the first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race, the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, gets underway.  From the biggest stories of the season to the most dominant drivers and major disappointments, no topic is off limits on premium television’s only NASCAR highlights and analysis show.

“This show has delivered a unique perspective for NASCAR fans. With coverage of every race from previously unseen angles and our experts’ provocative takes on the hottest topics in NASCAR on and off the track, INSIDE NASCAR gives fans a fresh look at the fastest sport on earth,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports.

The debut episode also features a special package from track-side reporter Susannah Collins, who will report from the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond where bubble drivers will have battled for the final spots in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

INSIDE NASCAR will return to its regular 30-minute format on Wednesday, Sept. 19 for the remainder of the season, airing weekly episodes each Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast). The final episode will air on Nov. 21 following the crowning of the 2012 champion.

In 2009, SHOWTIME Sports signed a multi-year deal to produce and televise INSIDE NASCAR throughout the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Produced in conjunction with NASCAR Productions, INSIDE NASCAR is filmed at NASCAR Plaza, the state-of-the-art television production facility at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C.

For more information on INSIDE NASCAR, visit Sports.SHO.com, follow us on Twitter at @SHOInsideNASCAR, or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/InsideNASCAR.